Never Been Normal
by Ratt9
Summary: Written for L's birthday. L realizes something.


I don't care that Halloween isn't celebrated in Japan. I just thought of this and decided to write it in honor of L's birthday. Happy birthday, L! :D Hope you enjoy. ^ ^

It was October 31st.

L sat back in his chair and looked at the ceiling. Another year had gone by. It was his birthday again already. He was turning 25.

Not that anyone knew, of course. Information like that was kept confidential, and Watari most likely didn't remember. Even if he had, he would most likely not do anything about it, so as to keep that information confidential.

"Happy birthday to me," L quietly muttered to himself. He spun around once in his chair and ate a bite of cake.

"Did you say something, Ryuzaki?" Light asked without looking up from his computer.

"No, just talking to myself," L replied.

"That's a sign of insanity," Light commented, though not really caring.

L sighed. _Maybe I am insane, _he thought. _I've certainly never been considered normal._

For a moment, L wondered what it would be like to be able to blend into society—into normalcy.

He sighed and stood up. "I'm going out, Light-kun."

Light blinked. "But Ryuzaki, its 7 pm, and it's Halloween."

"Exactly."

L walked out of the room. He had dismissed the task force to go home about an hour previous. Light had been the only one who had chosen to stay.

L left the HQ. People in costumes were walking all around the street.

_I think I'll get a costume, too, _L thought randomly. Before he could dismiss the thought completely, he saw a temporary costume store right across the street. Sighing, he decided to at least check it out.

When L walked into the shop, his eyes widened with surprise. The costume clerk was none other than Matsuda, wearing a monkey suit.

"Matsuda?" L asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"R-Ryuzaki! I could ask the same…" Matsuda looked away self-consciously.

"I decided to come out here and observe people. I was thinking of perhaps getting a costume to disguise myself, as everyone else is doing," L answered. "Now why are _you _here?"

Matsuda grinned his cute idiot grin. "I like costumes. I have always enjoyed working at costume shops around Halloween time. I've done it every year, ever since I was fifteen." He looked at L and sighed, "But of course, there aren't many customers on Halloween evening…"

"Understandably."

Matsuda smiled. "Yep, understandably."

"And the monkey costume…are you perhaps thinking of going trick-or-treating when you are done…?" L asked slowly, not understanding the purpose of wearing such a suit.

"Oh, this? I wear this because it's fun! It makes me happy when I wear it. People stare at me, and it's funny!" Matsuda replied cheerfully.

"…"

There was a moment of rather awkward silence.

Matsuda broke it. "So…erm…yeah. Ryuzaki, are you going to buy anything?"

"What costumes do you have?"

* * *

L walked awkwardly down the street. There hadn't been many costumes left in the store. They mainly only had food item costumes left. L had had to choose between being a strawberry or a sugar cube. In the end, he had chosen to wear the sugar cube mask and the strawberry body suit. He looked like a walking dessert.

However, no one stared at him, as most people looked just as odd as he did.

Walking down the street, he saw a little boy dressed as Santa Clause.

_Santa Clause for Halloween? _L thought. _That is rather odd._

After about ten minutes, L realized that he was actually enjoying himself. He found it fun to see what everyone was dressed up as.

Suddenly a boy collided with him. L looked down at the child.

"Sorry, mister!" the kid exclaimed. "I'm trying to catch that black cat so that I can make it cross my sister's path so that she will have bad luck! Maybe then she won't be able to punch me for flushing her makeup down the toilet!" The boy kept running.

"That poor cat…" L muttered.

Suddenly L heard a crazy laugh, followed by someone screaming, "I AM KIRA! ! ! !"

L instinctively turned toward the person who had shouted such a confession. He relaxed when he saw that it had only been a girl who looked to be about 7.

To his left, there was a sign that said "Haunted House!"

L decided to enter this said "haunted house."

"There is no such thing as spirits," he said aloud to no one in particular. "There is nothing to fear in a supposed haunted house."

This being said, L walked right through the doors.

He walked through the house without reaction as people in costume jumped out at him,

fake spiders were thrown at him, and sounds created by a sound machine filled the room.

However, toward the end of the haunted house, the woman behind him bit his shoulder and cried, "Steve! I'm scared!"

L froze. _There is a woman…biting my shoulder_, he thought. It was almost too odd to comprehend immediately, even for a genius like himself. _She called me Steve. She must have mistaken me for her boyfriend or something. And perhaps she is biting my shoulder because she just bites peoples' shoulders when she is scared…?_

"Ma'am…" L began, but he was interrupted.

"SHHH!" the woman said. She dug her teeth into his shoulder harder. "If we are quiet, we might be able to hear if someone is up ahead, ready to jump out at us."

"3 people have jumped out at us, 4 spiders were thrown at us, we were touched by fake cobwebs 2 times, and there were loud noises 4 times," L began. "Logically, because we are nearing the end of the haunted house, there will be a new trick all together. Therefore it is illogical to assume that someone will simply jump out at us. Now, please remove your jaws from my shoulder."

The woman still did not release him. L took a deep breath and decided to simply keep walking.

Right before exiting the house, a man jumped out at them. The woman screamed and wrapped her arms around L's neck tightly.

"Steve, save me!" she exclaimed.

_Am I really going to die here, being strangled by a frightened woman who thinks that my name is Steve? _L wondered, trying to break free from her grip without hurting her. _At least she is no longer biting my shoulder._ _In any case, my logic was wrong. That man was unexpected._

Finally, he managed to wrench her arms off him. He shoved her out of the haunted house and into the street light.

"I'm not Steve…" he informed.

The woman screamed upon making this realization.

_Matsuda working in a costume store._

_A kid dressed as Santa Clause._

_A kid trying to catch a black cat to avoid his sister's wrath._

_A shoulder-biting girl who cannot tell the difference between her boyfriend and a random stranger._

Suddenly L smiled, realizing something which he had not previously considered.

There is no such thing as a normal person.

Was L too OOC? I tried to keep him IC, but for some reason I was having a hard time with it. What do you think of the story? Review! ! ! ! ! ! !

Happy Birthday, L!

And thanks for reading! :D

~Ratt Kazamata


End file.
